Ireland 2-0 Faroe Islands.What you think?

[sligoman]

Totally useless team the faroes :p .Definetely deserved to win.Miller had terrible game,Keano broke record and Roy got man of match.Not been cocky but we honestely deserved plenty more goals.But overall a good victory-TOP OF THE GROUP YYYYYEEEEESSSSS :D

[Jon'o]

22 shots on goal, shame we couldnt have had a couple more goals :D

oh well top of the group, no injurys and 2 goals for keane, now top irish goal scorer ... good couple of days work id say

[thejollyrodger]

very disapointing. Roy Keane summed it up. I think it's going to come down to goal difference and it was an oppurtunity lost. Too many killer passes. Good to see Robbie scoring but very poor concentration, very poor crossing. Andy Reid wasnt up to it.

[finlma]

We'll take that but another couple of goals would have been nice. I was following it on irishvibe.com from work in New Zealand...there's no way of seeing the games out here and it upsets me greatly.

[beautifulrock]

I dont think Roy said anything about goal difference...Remember if two teams are level it comes down to head to head results not overall goal difference.

[Jon'o]

france only beat them 2-0 too, ok the swiss beat them 6-0 but if we are joint on points with either the swiss or the french on the last game its decided by the results between the tied teams.

Im happy with a win. it will come down to how us, the swiss and french play against each other that will decide things.

8 points from 4 games and 100% record at home isnt that bad

[sligoman]

Our next game is against Israel,ok? Are they playnig in Israel or Cyprus or do they know yet? Where have they been playing so far?

[Jon'o]

its being played in Israel in march or 'Zionist Occupied Palestine' for the lopez's around these parts ;) depending on the security situation

[thejollyrodger]

I wouldnt say were in a bad postion but this is defintely another Irish team underperforming. I cant see why anyone can be realistically pleased with that result.

Its easy to pick holes in the performance against the swiss away from home, a game that we should have won. Tonight is DEFINETELY going to come back and hit you in 12 months time.

You dont get many chances against the likes of the French and when you start putting the ball wide passed the upright you have to ask whether the team can top this group.

Plenty of chances created tonight but there is no real strikers in the team. Robbie is still not on his best form and he wont get to many chances like that out in Israel.

You can defentely expect France to put 6 or realistically 10 past this team at home in the Stade de France. So much for making up the goal difference!

With all his talk of peparing Kerr didnt look like he prepared much for the corners. Reid has to be the worst player at taking them, yet he kept doing it. I was pulling my hair out. For the last time he needs to loose weight. If he doesnt get into the priemership then maybe its time to drop him from the ireland side.

Miller looks like he has potential but as Dunphy said, he really needs to break into the Man Utd side.

Well at least robbie score first @ 7/4 and he scored 2 or more @ 2/1. I made a few bob. Pity about no O.G from the faroes

[Jon'o]

Its results we should be concerned with NOT goal diffrence.

If teams are tied at the top of the group at the end its the results between the tied teams that decides things NOT goal diffrence

so henry can have a clio up his @rse and score 5 against them at the stade de france for all i care, it will come down to how we do against the french and swiss at home

[strangeirish]

We were brought back down to earth after doing so well in Paris, but a win is a win no matter how you look at it and we control our own destiny. Nice position to be in, going into the break.

[Gary]

Very poor considering the chances created. Should have had at least 5.

That said, 3 points, no injuries and top of the group. How bad.

[thejollyrodger]

I think everyone here is being very generous.

What about Reid ? Does anyone rate him after that ?

[Slash/ED]

What about Reid ? Does anyone rate him after that ?

Yes, because he's been superb in all but two of his games for us. If anyone writes him off due to one or two bad performances than it's absolutley fickle beyond belief and a joke.

Poor performance today really but all the same still created chances and got the three points. We never beat teams by cricket scores for whatever reason but I think results between minnows and bigger teams over the weekend and today show we should be happy to have the three points.

[thejollyrodger]

I really hope Reid gets a move to the primiership for his own sake and Irelands.

Finnan looks the business, does his defensive duties and is great going forward. Hope to see him getting regular first team football from now on.

Roy keane looked like he couldnt get out of there quick enough with the bubbly but had a smile on his face during the game. Maybe some of that hard man image is a front :p

I hope and really hope that Ireland use these last 3 performances and average results to go to Israel and get a win. If we win out there in the Israel ( a nation I despise) then its going to make up for tonight.

Kerr should try Elliot up front for the game in November. Maybe even try a different formation like 4-3-3. He should give Miller 2 starts, give Reid another 2 starts, and maybe look at the likes of Mc Geady for one of the games. This team desperately needs depth.

Henry scored in France's 2-0 win out in Cyprus. Again not a convincing score line. Good to see :D But we will have to win away in the Faroes, Cyprus and hopefully Israel.

[Jon'o]

How many national or club teams do you think a manager could say something along the lines of ''right lads another team scored 6 against this lot so I want exactly the same'' and get the result he demanded?

expectation normally leads to disappointment

just look at ingurland for an example of the media and fans and even the players living on past glorys and expecting to beat every team they come across, then get the hump when they get dumped out of the euros and the world cup because they are ingurland and they expect better.

lets just see how things go for the next couple of games before getting worryed.... it will all be ok

[thejollyrodger]

I hope so.

I also hope that Santani starts playing Keane up front and maybe buys Reid. I wonder if he was playing Keane in midfield on purpose pre Eire Vs France :p

[1MickCollins]

This was a typical week for Ireland really, we play pretty much to our full potential away to France, and then play crappy at home to the Faroes. 11 shots on target and 2 goals? No goals in the second half when our higher fitness levels should have told.

I think we will alwys pretty much score goals but we make it look so hard....Kerr cannot be happy with this performance.

[Slash/ED]

By the way we really need to stop this Duff up front rubbish. He only looked good when he drifted onto the wing which left Keane as the lone striker which doesn't suit him at all and was part of the season why Keane did, and always has, played so poorly when paired with Duff.

[petef]

The Faroes the part timers that they are do not underestimate them, second half display from them was very competent and when they actually pushed up the field they started to put us under a small bit of pressure and box us in but yes we missed a bag load of chances. Faroes manager was on and he complemented the team by saying we are the best outfit they have come up against and that includes France! he added.

[Poor Student]

I wouldn't be too worried. Ireland have never been lethal up front or too great at really putting away weak teams. It happened before in 1999 when Portugal topped the group putting the weak teams away with twice as much goals as us. The important thing is the results. I'd be much happier winning every game 1-0 than losing a few and scoring a bucket load. The most crucial thing is the three points. In 1999 it was Ireland's ability to beat all the low seeded sides home and away which enabled us to finish ahead of Holland and almost top the group. If we can have a similar campaign we may qualify as winners or best runners up. The next round of fixtures are crucial. An away win over Israel would really set us up. Three points will do no matter how.

As for Miller, I noticed at Celtic he consistently gave the ball away far too cheaply. I don't think he will turn out to be as great as his intial showing in the CL last season. He's very injury prone as well. I think he's about 24 now and he still hasn't really established himself as a first teamer.

I agree about Duff. It used to really annoy me under McCarthy when we played him up front with Keane. He is far more effective on the wing where he will drift to anyway. We may as well have two men in the box when he cuts in to cross and not one. Although granted Kerr does prefer Morrisson when fit. Simply Gary Doherty is not that good so I would leave him on the bench only as an alternative if all other options are exhausted and we want to go route 1. I have a feeling Kerr pruposely avoided high balls and crosses including corners as the Faroes are a physically strong team. Kerr should give Elliot a go in the friendlies but I'd hold back on McGeady until he establishes himself at Celtic first.

[tricky_colour]

Well not the greatest result but not too bad, we had quite a few
chances anyway.
Hats off to the Faroes though, they can punch well above their
weight, OK they have had a couple of 6-0 defeats but 2 or 3 is
more typically, some decent sides have only beat the by a goal
in qualifiers


UEFA EURO 2004 Prel. Comp. HANOVER GERMANY - 16.10.2002
Germany (GER) 2:1 (1:1) Faroe Islands (FRO)

FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. UEFA MOSCOW RUSSIA - 28.03.2001
Russia (RUS) 1:0 (1:0) Faroe Islands (FRO)

( better than we did :D ).

FIFA WC 2002 Prel. Comp. UEFA TOFTIR FAROE ISLANDS - 03.09.2000
Faroe Islands (FRO) 2:2 (0:1) Slovenia (SVN)

UEFA EURO 2004 Prel. Comp. TOFTIR FAROE ISLANDS - 07.09.2002
Faroe Islands (FRO) 2:2 (2:0) Scotland (SCO)

2-0 up at half-time.

So they may cause a big upset yet.

[speedking]

Good performance, poor finishing. 3 points are the main thing.

[razor]

Very disappointed after an excellent start.
Woeful finishing from Keane, Reid and Miller.
I really thought they might get one in the end, we were a bit lax at the back.
But we always seem to struggle against the poorer teams, maybe expectations are too high.
So thats the 2 soft home games and 2 hard away games out of the way, so far so good but there is a hell of a long way to go.

[zinedineontour]

At the end of the day it was always going to be a come down from the france game. Decent first half and the game petered out after that. On another day we could have had 6 so not to be. 3 points is the key at this stage as goal diff wont really come into play as its head to head that counts. Overall solid display good to see Robbie get over the record so the talk of it is all over now .. Miller still looks a good bit short of international level and reidy needs a decent move in january

[Lionel Ritchie]

Very poor considering the chances created. Should have had at least 5.

That said, 3 points, no injuries and top of the group. How bad.

All true. Though funnily enough, if Ian Harte hadn't been back in Spain spitting out his dummy last night I think the guy might've had a hat-trick from frees against the faroes. :eek:

[koneinc]

A very disappointing second half, we really need another striker! Give McGeady/Elliot a run out in the friendlies....

/Kone

[thejollyrodger]

Is Miller really 24 ? Féck he is pushing on a bit. I thought he was 20 or something like that. I have doubts about him. I cant see him breaking into first team football in Man Utd.

Maybe miller should start looking at the transfer market in January. He needs regular football, not spend the next few years sitting on a man utd bench.

[bryanodowd]

dissapointing second half alright wouldve liked to see them push on score couple more. keano missed few chances alrite but 3 points top of the table should we really complain?

[tammy]

The French team were slated in the media for only beating them 2-0. However they beat them with 10 men and it was away! We beat them 2-0 at home and people are happy?? Bull****!! :cool:

[blobbyblob]

The French didnt create 22 chances and they were lucky not to concede on occasions.

Get off the high horse, stop moaning and start writing your christmas cards.

[Metrostars]

Is Miller really 24 ? Féck he is pushing on a bit. I thought he was 20 or something like that. I have doubts about him. I cant see him breaking into first team football in Man Utd.

Maybe miller should start looking at the transfer market in January. He needs regular football, not spend the next few years sitting on a man utd bench.


Miller has been injured for much of the season. He is turning out to be Manchester United's and Ireland's Darren Anderton.

[eirebhoy]

The French team were slated in the media for only beating them 2-0. However they beat them with 10 men and it was away! We beat them 2-0 at home and people are happy?? Bull****!! :cool:
Would you like to explain what there is not be happy about? There is 100/1 chance of the group coming down to goal difference and a 200/1 chance for us to draw 1-1 with Switzerland in Lansdowne and finish level on points with them.

BTW, the Faroe's have only lost by more than 2 goals 5 times in their last 30 games.

[da Boy Wonder]

Although their track record as a minnow footballing nation is scoreline friendly in defeat over the past few years (expection Switzerland), it greatly disappoints me just how many opportunities we had to dish out the hammering the Faroes' deserved for being so bad.

In fact I'd go as far as to say they are the worst team ever to grace the Lansdowne turf. Compared to most minnow footballing nations like Andorra (well done on beating Macedonia! :cool: ) who put up a resistance, Faroes didn't even look like they could defend and I doubt they even had a plan for an attacking/counter-attacking game. All they were interested in was keeping the scoreline down via wasting time on throw-ins etc and but for our wastefulness and on some occasions their keeper, we should have exceeded on Switzerland's score.

I fully back Roy Keane's after-match statement about the second half. It was poor, trying to be over-elaborative with the final ball when the simple option would have been more effective and our finishing was appauling to say the least. I reckon 80-85% of possession was in the Faroes half, we completely dominated them and yet for all our efforts, the corners we had and the chances we made, we only scored twice - one of them was from a penalty.

Far too relaxed: we should be aiming to win games where opportunites arise against the better teams and where we produce many opportunites against the minnows, look to convert as many of them as possible as a practice for games against the better sides.

It's bad practice for the games against Israel, Switzerland and France in not being clincial against the weaker teams, we only get a limited number of chances against them and we must make them count - can't afford to be as wasteful with our chances as we were on Wednesday night.

Not to be over all critical. The primary objective of the game was to ensure we came out with the 3 points we were expected to gain and that we did. Lets not be too casual, as there have been times when many of the bigger nations have failed to deliver what has been expected against smaller, inferior nations in the past and it was important that this time was not one of them.

[Littlest Hobo]

no complaints here. Four points from the two games is okay.
If we can take 3 points away to Israel and pick up at least a point against the french and swiss at home then all the goal difference in the world won't matter a fiddlers fart. :D

[eirebhoy]

In fact I'd go as far as to say they are the worst team ever to grace the Lansdowne turf. Compared to most minnow footballing nations like Andorra (well done on beating Macedonia! :cool: ) who put up a resistance, Faroes didn't even look like they could defend and I doubt they even had a plan for an attacking/counter-attacking game.
We only beat Andorra by 2 goals aswell. :)

I've send this a number of times but it deserves to be said, from the Faroe's last 30 games, they've only been beaten by more than 2 goals 5 times.

[Closed Account 2]

Yeah but the performance wasnt that good but the players had played in the mother of all games that Saturday, they then had to face a mammoth training session in the freezing-cold of Malahide (the sea breeze there makes it feel below zero on some days), and to cap it all the team that played v the Faeroes was pretty much (man for man) the same team as v France.

I think our players were knackerd and it showed in our 2nd half performance. Still points in the bag, banana skin avioded, only one significant injury picked up and hopefully that'll be sorted by the Israel match. Two friendlies vs decent opposition (chances to see what the fringe players like Barrett, Miller -hopefully for a full 90 mins- Elliot, McGeedy etc are like 6 months on from Charlton and Amsterdam). If someone was to have said to me in August by Christmas you'll be top of the group, undefeated away vs the 2 biggest rivals and 100% record at home - id have taken it.